King Midas Sound - Dub Heavy Hearts and Ghosts

King Midas Sound - Dub Heavy Hearts and Ghosts
After the acclaimed release of the London Zoo album last year, The Bug, AKA Kevin Martin, has evidently been working hard on other projects. King Midas Sound is the first to hit wax in 2009. Alongside writer/spoken word performer Roger Robinson, they've produced a work of echoing precussion that's driven by thick rolling basslines and the sort of groove that Massive Attack brought to mainstream attention in its earliest days.

"I Dub" has an "Inertia Creeps" bassline that keeps propelling its constant surges deep into the belly of the track, sloshing around in tape delay and Theremin melodics, whilst "Ting Dub" rolls out heavily reverbed snares and distant sirens sticking to a more hip-hop template as the heavy bass pumps its five notes in succession. "Too Long Dub" is the peach though; a drawn out roller that travels through extended periods of sustain and chorus whilst the muted thump of the kick drum keeps the tempo regulated in a 4x4 style.

Incessantly moody, it's a release best played at the loudest volume possible, revealing all the layers and clicks that are poured into the heavily stylised sound design. The atmosphere created over the course of the 12-inch, whether vibing off a crackling piano or a massive bassline, piles the reams of sickly sweet weed smoke it emanates into the dark vacumn it creates.